Calling Mahler or Bruckner fans

[Kal Rubinson]

SFO is having a sale and, while I've always wanted the CSO set, the discount makes The Mahler Project set pretty appealing (plus I know some of the trumpet players, at least via the 'net on the trumpet site I help moderate). Anybody have the set, what do you think?

My practice time has been slashed by work and life events, might as well listen!

I have the SFSO set and it is excellently performed and recorded. Until the Abbado/Lucerne recordings came alone, it was my favorite MCH series. For stereo, there are too many marvelous individual performances for me to pick a favorite set by one guy.

 

[DonH50]

Thanks Kal! Guess I should pull the trigger before the sale ends. I have a couple of CSO and others but getting the set would be nice. Our conductor is hinting at giving one a go in the next season or two (which means I need to be practicing and listening much more than posting!)

 

[johndoe21ro]

If one wants to hear the best from the two composers here is it:
- for Mahler: L. Bernstein, R. Chailly, M. Gielen, M. Honeck, Michael Tilson Thomas, some of Ivan Fischer's, some of Kubelik's, some of Klemperer's and, recently, Markus Stenz's cycle... I own all these cycles and I find all of them magnificent. If I would have to choose just a few names... go with R. Chailly (RCO is the best orchestra in the world and you can hear that and these are some of the best recordings from a technical point of view), or Bernstein (the Sony Classical cycle, not the DG one). Gielen's cycle from Hanssler Classic is also terrific....
- for Bruckner: S. Skrowaczewski and Celibidache should suffice! The reason I'm mentioning Celibidache is not because he's my fellow countryman... but he's just perfect for Bruckner. Too bad the recordings are not as top notch as his interpretations!

PS 1: https://youtu.be/elVHvTrEM34?t=1h9m59s
PS 2: The Markus Stenz Mahler 5 with the Melbourne SO (ABC Classics) is an outstanding recording from both the artistic and the technical point of view! Not to be missed!

 

[ChrisH]

Here are a few that haven't been mentioned:

Mahler 9 with Alan Gilbert and Stockholm. Mahler 6 and 5 with John Darlinton and Duisberg. Anything with Eliahu Inbal and either the Czech Philharmonic or Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, excepting the 3rd with Tokyo, the others he's recorded are almost essential in my mind. Especially his 7th with the Czechs, simply the best. Riccardo Chailly has an ongoing cycle with Leipzig that I find to be superior to Abbado/Lucerne. Christoph Eschenbach with Philadelphia doing Mahler 6. Das Lied von der Erde with Sanderling.

I'll stop there.

 

[maslak34]

500 limited edition

 

[rbbert]

Cut from hi-res digital or analog masters?

View attachment 22201

500 limited edition

 

[maslak34]

Cut from hi-res digital or analog masters?

Numbered, Limited Edition 180g Vinyl 22LP Box Set With Bonus 7" 45rpm LP Mastered by Kevin Gray at AcousTech Mastering! Serial Numbers 300-423 out of the first and only pressing of 500 Copies Worldwide!!!

The Deluxe 22-LP set is the capstone of the seven time Grammy® winning and five star Diâpason d’Or Mahler Cycle recorded live at Davies Symphony Hall from 2001-2009. The series, released in individual installments on Hybrid SACD, was a commercial success and was lauded with critical acclaim. This one-time only offer is pressed only once and limited to 500 individually numbered sets.

Bonus 7" 45rpm Disc: An intimate performance of the Rückert Lieder sung by Susan Graham with Michael Tilson Thomas on piano. Exclusively available in the Ultimate Mahler Collection. Not sold individually.

"...I would venture that the SFS/Thomas sequence is the most important complete cycle from any American orchestra since Bernstein and the Philharmonic's. It's also likely that no other complete cycle will satisfy the Mahler-loving audiophile like this one, especially, I will add, now that it's about to be released in a superb 180-gram vinyl edition pressed at RTI, and mastered by none other than Kevin Gray." - Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, October 2011, Issue 216, pages 122-126

"It's an ambitious, impressive, and pricey package, complete with a hardbound book filled with lengthy liner notes, archival photos, and texts in three languages. the series is selling briskly and may well be sold out by its release..." - Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, October 2011, Issue 216, pages 122-126

"The discs, originally recorded in DSD and released on hybrid-stereo and (tasteful, even convincing) multichannel SACDs, were generally excellent sounding, with a rich tonality, wide and deep soundstaging, and terrific dynamic scaling and extended range. Not only have these qualities translated beautifully to vinyl, they actually, perhaps even surprisingly, sound better than ever." - Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, October 2011, Issue 216, pages 122-126

"[Kevin] Gray told me that "We were very aware going into this project that the LPs would be scrutinized against the SACDs, so we decided to keep the full dynamic range of the original recording." Gray's claim was fully evident as I made my way through a sample set of test LPs... Dynamic range was consistently very wide, and yet natural and cohesive, too. As we know, Mahler scores frequently swing from a barely audible hush to the kind of in-your-face rush of sound that can figuratively knock you off your feet. But even during the full-on climax of No. 8, with its huge orchestral and multi-chorus score, the dynamic wave of the music kept rolling until my Maggie 1.7's started to max-out." - Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, October 2011, Issue 216, pages 122-126

"...credit for the final product goes to the folks at the RTI pressing facility for delivering flat LPs with remarkably low surface noise. Needless to say quiet surfaces are desirable for all music, but given the near-silent awakening movement of, say, the Symphony No. 1, this project could have bee a disaster without the highest quality vinyl." - Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, October 2011, Issue 216, pages 122-126

"...beautiful micro-dynamic resolution and explosive macro-dynamics are triumphs of this set... dynamics just seemed to build and build, until the orchestra, organ, and array of choruses filled the room with a sound that was impressively reminiscent of this piece as I last heard it in this hall with these very forces." - Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, October 2011, Issue 216, pages 122-126

"...for those who obtain this set, the "bonus" 45rpm LP of the Ruckert-Lieder with Thomas and mezzo-soprano Susan Graham is a treasure. It's remarkably intimate, present, and like-like sounding." - Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, October 2011, Issue 216, pages 122-126

Features:
• Serial Numbers 300-423 out of the initial first pressing of only 500 Copies!!!
• Individually Numbered
• 22 180g vinyl LPs, each housed in luxuriously designed, separate jackets
• Bonus 7" 45rpm disc of Rückert Lieder by Susan Graham & Michael Tilson Thomas exclusive to this box set
• Mastered by Kevin Gray at AcousTech Mastering
• Hardbound book with extensive liner notes, bios and texts in three languages, plus archival photographs
• Special outer shipping box for extra protection
• Over 18 hours of music

Musicians:
Isabel Bayrakdarian, soprano
Laura Claycomb, soprano
Michelle DeYoung, mezzo-soprano
Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano
Anthony Dean Griffey, tenor
Thomas Hampson, baritone
Elza van den Heever, soprano
Katarina Karneus, mezzo-soprano
Quinn Kelsey, baritone
Sergei Leiferkus, baritone
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, mezzo-soprano
James Morris, bass-baritone
Thomas Moser, tenor
Yvonne Naef, mezzo-soprano
Marina Shaguch, soprano
Stuart Skelton, tenor
Erin Wall, soprano
San Francisco Symphony Chorus
Pacific Boychoir
San Franciso Girls Chorus
San Francisco Symphony
Michael Tilson Thomas, director

Selections:
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
1. Symphony No. 1
2. Symphony No. 2
3. Symphony No. 3
4. Symphony No. 4
5. Symphony No. 5
6. Symphony No. 6
7. Symphony No. 7
8. Symphony No. 8
9. Symphony No. 9
10. Adagio from Symphony No. 10
11. Kindertotenlieder
12. Das klagende Lied
13. Das Lied von der Erde
14. Songs with Orchestra
15. Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen
16. Rückert -Lieder
17. Selections from Des Knaben Wunderhorn

 

[Mosin]

The Electric Recording Company will be represented in our room at RMAF this year, and I noticed that Mahler's Symphony #9 is in their catalog. I'll make an effort to obtain it for the show just in case some of you guys drop by. If you haven't heard of ERC, their records are truly special.

https://electricrecordingco.com/releases

 

[bonzo75]

Saw Bernard Haitink do bruckner 7 at Barbican today. Man bruckner is much louder than Mahler, who gets loud in only very few passages. The first and third movement today were so energetic. This is the loudest concert I have been to (in terms of decibel level). Trombone was great. Trumpet was a bit harsh. Haitink was also amazing at Mahler 1 and B's 9th earlier this summer

 

[bonzo75]

Mahler 7 yesterday had so much brass - the symphony is very hard to replicate live. Mahler 3 today with BBC Symphony Orchestra was excellent, the first movement had possibly the best brass tonality I have heard - there is so much brass solo.

Both these will make excellent auditions for brass.

 

[bonzo75]

Got tickets for Simon Rattle Bruckner 6 and 8 in April, and Daniel Harding Bruckner 9 this December.

 

[ack]

Great stuff bonzo. Mahler for me this season means only the 9th next April, but it is expected to be great. And I have been preparing for it for months now, trying to absorb this symphony inside and out. I have been listening to this CD

It is hard to ignore the sadness spread throughout this masterpiece. Of particular interest is actually CD #3 where Zander narrates the symphony's focal points and more, and one can feel Mahler's pain from life-long calamities, like his daughter's loss and his own terminal illness, which might have been the driving force behind this symphony... The final goodbye, perhaps. I like Zander, having heard him a number of times at Harvard and Symphony Hall...

 

[bonzo75]

Hi any good Bruckner 7 CD recommendations, especially Celibidache?

 

[ack]

Mahler 2nd with Abbado - to die for

 

[bonzo75]

Mahler 2nd with Abbado - to die for

Abbado Mahler blu rays are excellent

 

[meistersinger57]

Some very good LP recordings playing here:

ATTACH]31504[/ATTACH]:

 

[meistersinger57]

Hi any good Bruckner 7 CD recommendations, especially Celibidache?

To those who appreciate well recorded digital...here very good sounding SACds...

 

[ack]

Will be attending the Mahler 2nd at the BSO with Zander leading the BPO on Good Friday with the family, next week; second balcony, of course. An event of a lifetime, can't wait!

 

[bonzo75]

Will be attending the Mahler 2nd at the BSO with Zander leading the BPO on Good Friday with the family, next week; second balcony, of course. An event of a lifetime, can't wait!

Did Mahler 7 yesterday. It's a tough one, LSO was brilliant but previously another orchestra botched it up. There is Mahler 8 playing tomorrow but all sold out. They hardly perform it in London. Have Mahler 3 in June

 

[ack]

So I have mixed feelings about the Zander/BPO 2nd last night - it was clearly not as dynamic as any other 2nd at Symphony Hall, and in fact, not as dynamic as my favorite Ozawa/BSO CD at home, excepting parts of the Finale (chorus and organ). When my wife and I attended our first 2nd together about 18-20 years ago (and probably my third time back then), she had commented that my system at the time sounded nothing like it - in fact, she was in tears at the end of the performance. How true. Last night she said the system now sounded better than this Zander performance, and so did my son. I personally felt that, post my DAC modifications, the system is able to render a very good and clean depiction of what I heard last night - though what a microphone on stage picks up is not the same as what I hear from the second balcony - and clearly the dynamic contrasts, detail and clarity stand out. I could not get off my mind how far Keith Johnson and his team have been able to push the envelope in the latest Spectral designs, so much so that I think I am going to pull the trigger on the 4000SV CD player. By contrast, the best 2nd I've heard yet at Symphony Hall so far is with von Dohnanyi, who made everyone work to hard to achieve extra-ordinary dynamics all around - and my system is not at that particular level of performance. However, once more, hats off to the Spectral team for such extra-ordinary sonics!

Clearly the Boston Philharmonic is not in the same league as the BSO. For example, even my inexperienced son noticed at the end the bells' timing was off. I noticed a few other places where some musicians were struggling to keep up momentarily - nothing distracting, but clearly noticeable events.

I am going back next month for Mahler #4 with the BSO/Nelsons, and based on the Fantastique I heard recently, I expect it to be a completely different experience than last night's.